McLean County Board Justice Committee met Nov. 2.
Here are the minutes provided by the committee:
The Justice Committee of the McLean County Board met at 4:30 p.m. in Room 400 of the Government Center, 115 E. Washington Street, Bloomington, Illinois.
Members Present: Chairman Erickson, Members Randall L. Martin, George Wendt, Susan Schafer, Sharon Chung, and Hannah Beer
Members Absent: Member Benjamin Webb
Other County Board
Members Present None
Staff Present: Cassy Taylor, Interim County Administrator; Cathy Dreyer, Assistant County Administrator; Julie Morlock, Recording Secretary; Christopher Spanos, First Assistant State’s Attorney –Civil Division
Department Heads/Elected Officials Present: Michael Donovan, Court Services Director; Molly Evans, Children’s Advocacy Center Director; Kathy Yoder, Coroner; Don Everhart, Circuit Clerk; Donald Knapp, State’s Attorney
Others Present: None
Chairman Erickson called the meeting to order at 4:30 p.m. and declared a quorum.
Chairman Erickson presented the minutes of the October 5, 2021 regular Committee meeting for approval.
Motion by Chung/Beer to approve the minutes from the October 5, 2021 regular Committee meeting.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson confirmed there were members of the public or employees to appear. Ms. Taylor indicated there were two requests. It was noted Mr. Zachary Gittrich was not present. Chairman Erickson noted Ms. Karla Bailey-Smith had requested to speak but had not met the deadline but indicated he would approve her request if there were no objections. Hearing no objections Ms. Smith was invited to come forward. Ms. Karla Bailey Smith spoke on behalf of an inmate requesting tablets be returned to the inmates.
Chairman Erickson noted Sheriff Sandage was not present and indicated if members had questions about his report, they should reach out to him. Ms. Chung noted Board members had received mail from an inmate asking them not to return the tablets but to continue with regular mail. She then commented on cost and process of mail when tablets were utilized. Chairman Erickson asked for items not on the agenda to be brought up in other business.
Kathy Yoder, Coroner presented her monthly reports. She indicated they had received additional funds from Northwestern University for a study they were conducting in which the Coroner provided data. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions for the Coroner; hearing none, he thanked her.
Chairman Erickson presented for action on behalf of Don Knapp, McLean County State’s Attorney a request to approve a Debt Collection Agreement with Credit Collection Partners d/b/a Pay Court. Mr. Knapp indicated the State had given him authority to enter into this contract but noted the Circuit Clerk’s office collects all the court related fines.
Motion by Wendt/Schafer to recommend approval of a Debt Collection Agreement with Credit Collection Partners d/b/a Pay Court.
Motion Carried.
Mr. Knapp presented his monthly reports to the Committee. He noted DUI numbers are back up now that the bars are back open. Mr. Knapp asked Mr. Erickson if he could comment now or during other business on how mail in the jail affects several aspects of the County. Chairman Erickson asked if he could wait until other business. Chairman Erickson then asked if there were any questions regarding Mr. Knapp’s reports; hearing none, he thanked him.
Chairman Erickson presented for action on behalf of Michael Donovan, Director of Court Services a request to approve an Agreement with the Center for Youth and Family Solutions (CYFS) for services through the Problem-Solving Court Program. Mr. Donovan indicated this was a renewal agreement with no changes from the previous year.
Motion by Chung/Wendt to recommend approval of an Agreement with the Center for Youth and Family Solutions (CYFS) for services through the Problem Solving Court Program.
Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson presented for action on behalf of Mr. Donovan a request to approve an Agreement with Chestnut Health Systems for services through the Problem-Solving Court Program. Mr. Donovan indicated this was a renewal agreement with no changes from the previous year.
Motion by Chung/Martin to recommend approval of an Agreement with Chestnut Health Systems for services through the Problem-Solving Court Program. Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson presented for action on behalf of Mr. Donovan a request to approve an Agreement with the McLean County Center for Human Services for services provided through the Problem-Solving Court Program. Mr. Donovan indicated this was a renewal agreement with no changes from the previous year.
Motion by Schafer/Wendt to recommend approval of an Agreement with the McLean County Center for Human Services for services provided through the Problem-Solving Court Program.
Motion Carried.
Mr. Donovan presented his monthly reports. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions; hearing none, he thanked Mr. Donovan.
Mr. Don Everhart, McLean County Circuit Clerk presented his monthly and quarterly reports to the Committee. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any questions; hearing none, he thanked him.
Chairman Erickson noted Mr. Ron Lewis, Public Defender was not present and asked members to reach out to Mr. Lewis if they had any questions regarding his report.
Chairman Erickson presented for action on behalf of Molly Evans, Children’s Advocacy Center a request to approve an Inter-Governmental Agreement between the State of Illinois, Department of Children and Family Services (DCFS) and the County of McLean. Ms. Evans noted the grant covers 100% of costs for two staff members and provides partial cost coverage for another staff member. She also noted they had received information indicating
CAC would be receiving additional funding through this grant. She stated she would bring paperwork for that additional funding upon receipt from the State.
Motion by Martin/Chung to recommend approval of an Amendment to the Grant Agreement between Illinois Association of Court Appointed Special Advocates and CASA of McLean County.
Motion Carried.
Ms. Evans presented her monthly reports. Ms. Chung thanked her for the invitation to the Livingston facility open house. Ms. Evans noted everything was up and running at the Livingston facility.
Ms. Cassy Taylor, Interim County Administrator indicated she had no items for action or information
Under Other Business and Communication, Chairman Erickson invited Mr. Knapp back to the table. Mr. Knapp stated on average prison population turns over every 3 years, but jail population turns over more often which adds to the difficulty in operating the jail. He also noted jail population affects multiple departments in the County and provided example of his staff spending a lot of time monitoring communications in and out of the jail as a lot of the correspondence affects pending cases. He also noted while inmates are there under the presumption of innocence until proven guilty, most of individuals in the jail have received a finding from a Judge, not the Sheriff, of probable cause meaning the individual should be in jail and not in the community. He noted decisions are for safety of all residents of the County.
Chairman Erickson noted he would not stop members from commenting on things they feel strongly about but wanted to try to keep matters and comments to items on the agenda. He noted comments tonight were related to an item previously presented to the Committee and the Board, but still wanted to keep some order to the meetings by trying to limit things to current agenda items. Chairman Erickson asked if there were any other comments or questions; hearing none, he moved to the payment of the bills.
Chairman Erickson presented bills for review and approval as transmitted by the County Auditor with a prepaid and fund total of $645,777.97.
Motion by Martin/Wendt to approve the Justice Committee bills as presented. Motion Carried.
Chairman Erickson stated there was no other business for the Justice Committee to consider and adjourned the meeting at 4:55 p.m.
https://www.mcleancountyil.gov/ArchiveCenter/ViewFile/Item/8454
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